Xi6 Ignite TV Box Always Booting Up When Powered On

[pp171]

Hi,

Just got my new Ignite Internet / TV system, and almost everything is working fine. However, I can't figure out why my Xi6 box always goes through the full boot up cycle when I power it on.

I have paired the remote with my TV and receiver. When I power everything off with the power button on the remote, the whole system shuts down, the way it's supposed to. However, when I want to power it back on, the TV and the receiver come on immediately, but the the Xi6 box goes through the full boot cycle (Welcome screen and so on). Takes about 2 minutes to get the TV signal back.

I have tried Power Saver both off and on, same for HDMI-CEC (off and on), and nothing helps. I have even disconnected HDMI from the receiver and plugged it directly to TV, and that didn't work. Every time I power the system down, on the next power up, it goes through the long 2-minute boot sequence.

I also tried to unpair both TV and receiver from the remote, and that didn't do anything either. With the HDMI signal going through the receiver. all I have to do is turn off the receiver to lose the signal to the TV (which is  normal obviously), but when I turn the receiver back on, Xi6 goes through the whole initiation cycle.

I can't figure the way to shut the system down, and power it back up without having the Ignite box go through the whole annoying boot cycle.

***EDITED LABELS***

[57]

It sounds like the receiver (AVR) is not allowing the HDMI signal to go through (when off) and the box needs to determine the best signal to send to the TV (via the AVR) each time. Perhaps go into the IgniteTV box' device settings and choose a device video output format instead of letting it check for the "best" setting each time?

Check your AVR's settings regarding HDMI.  Depending on the AVR there is usually a setting to allow the HDMI passthrough to remain "on" when the AVR is off. This may require you to use the HDMI-CEC setting "on" (AVR, TV, box).  It may also consume a bit more power in the AVR than if it shuts down completely.

Another workaround would be to connect the box directly to the TV using HDMI and send the audio from the TV to the AVR via the optical connection, which you'll need to set up properly in the TV (usually called something like external speaker setting) You say you've tried that, so perhaps the first or second paragraph contains your answer?

Is it possible that you are losing the WiFi or Ethernet connection, depending on how you're connected?  You should be able to check the connection using the IgniteTV WiFi Hub app when the box is "off/standby".  You can see how you are connected and use the troubleshooting tips to see if the connection is good or poor.  Based on your comments regarding turning the AVR off, this doesn't appear to be the case, but I thought I'd mention it.

Edit - as mentioned by @-G- below.  Is the IgniteTV plugged into a switched outlet on the AVR, or some other switched outlet?  What is the white status light on the box doing?  I believe it should stay "on" for a period of time even though you switch it "off" because "off" is not actually "off" it's standby.  Even using the power saver mode doesn't actually save much power other than the amount to run the white LED which is only about 0.2 W.

[-G-]

@pp171  What is the Ignite set-top box's power adapter plugged into?  Power bar?  Wall outlet?  Something else?  Perhaps a switched outlet of some kind?

The Ignite STB normally never really powers off; it goes into standby and wakes up either via HDMI-CEC or when you press buttons on the Ignite voice remote.  In all the years that I have had Ignite TV, I have never seen a set-top box do a full reboot on wake-up.

[pp171]

Set-top box is plugged into a surge protector power bar. The moment I hit power off on the remote, the white LED goes off instantly. Power to it is obviously cut off by the receiver. As I said in the original post, if I only power down my AVR, STB's power goes down too. Hence there is no wake up when I power it back on, but the whole boot sequence happens instead.

As for allowing the HDMI passthrough to remain on when the AVR is off, my AVR is a Pioneer, about 10 years old, and I'm not sure there is such an option. Maybe there is, but I'll have to dig deeper and try to find the way, if it fact there is one.

Running an optical cable from the TV to the AVR may work, since it is clear it is the HDMI connection that kills power to the STB when the AVR is off. I'd also have to reprogram my Harmony remote, that also operates other components of the system (streaming devices and a Blu-ray player). Good luck to me in that case, because the 32-bit Logitech software won't work on my Mac or even the old PC. Both are 64-bit operating systems now...but that's a different story.

And as for WiFi, it doesn't matter, because the power to the STB is completely off. Ideally, I have to find a way to not kill power to the STB when the AVR is off.

Thanks for your responses, @57 and @-G- . Any other ideas, please don't hesitate.

[-G- · Accepted solution]

@pp171 The white LED on the set-top box will also turn off when it goes into Standby.

Try plugging the Ignite STB's power adapter directly into a wall outlet, not into a power bar.  If the STB still continues to do a full reboot every time you turn it on, we will need to figure out why.

You can try disabling "HDMI Device Control (HDMI-CEC)" in Settings / Device Settings / Power Preferences.  That should prevent the STB from immediately going into standby when you turn your other components off.  If the LED still goes off when you turn everything off, then something is actually cutting power to your STB, not putting it into standby.

Also, to rule out a defective STB or power supply, do you have another Ignite set-top box that you can try?

[pp171]

I plugged the STB directly into a wall outlet, and that worked...only to realize that originally it has been plugged into the "Master Controlled" outlet of the power bar. I'm using a different outlet on the power bar and everything is fine now. I feel like a fool...sorry to bother you with a non-existent problem, guys. I guess sometimes you miss to see the obvious, when you try to focus on something that does not exist.

Thanks again!